S. Stevens Negus, Ph.D.

After his Ph.D. in Neurobiology, Steve took a post-doctoral fellowship with George Koob at the Scripps Research Institute and continued his explorations of opioid pharmacology and the role of mu kappa and delta-selective opioids in drug dependence and reinforcement. During this time he also studied with Matthew Weinger in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of California. This training was an important stimulus for Steve's continuing interest in the analgesic effects of opioids and the neurobiology of pain (9, 11, 12, 13).

Five and a half years ago I was fortunate to persuade Steve to join me at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center at McLean Hospital and the Harvard Medical School. Our mutual interest in the pharmacology of buprenorphine was one basis for our initial discussions and early collaborations. Steve is now an Associate Professor at the Harvard Medical School and Director of the Neurobiology Program in the Behavioral Science Laboratory at our research center. In this role, he has continued his research on the neurobiology of pain (23, 27, 28, 29, 32, 35, 38) and has developed an integrated behavioral program to evaluate the effectiveness of new medications for drug abuse treatment in primate models (30, 33, 34, 41, 48). Steve has also become interested in the pharmacological interactions between cocaine and opioids and how these contribute to the reinforcing and discriminative stimulus effects of polydrug abuse in a rhesus monkey speedball model (24, 36, 37, 39, 40). Steve has been outstandingly productive in all of these areas and in the 8 years since receipt of his Ph.D., he has written and co-authored 48 scientific reports and comprehensive reviews.

Steve is thoughtful, scholarly and creative and has an special talent for analyzing research questions from a multidisciplinary perspective that combines pharmacology, behavioral science, and neurobiology. Beyond Steve's exceptional scientific achievements, he is a wonderful mentor for young scientists. Many of his post-doctoral students are here today and have benefited from his guidance, his warm collegiality and unfailing concern for their career development.

When I nominated Steve for this award, I wrote that he is a dedicated scientist who combines scientific excellence, scholarship, creativity and critical analytic abilities. There is every reason to expect that Steve will continue to make important contributions to the neurobiology of substance abuse. Moreover, his generous mentoring of younger scientists, his modesty and his integrity are in the best tradition of Joe Cochin's legacy.

The inscription on the award reads: To S. Stevens Negus Ph.D., For Outstanding Research in Neurobiology and the Behavioral Pharmacology of Opioids and Stimulants.